Commodore Amiga returns with powerful Mini desktop PC

Iconic 80s and 90s brand name launches first new model in 20 years

The Commodore Amiga 500 computer deserves its place in gadget folklore, but now the brand is back seeking to capture its former glories with a well-specced Mac mini rival

Late last year Commodore pulled a major surprise by re-launching the iconic C64 with all new, modern innards. Fast forward a few months and the company has done it again with the unexpected launch of the Commodore Amiga Mini desktop computer.

The Mac mini-style system-in-a-box is sees the return of the Commodore Amiga brand name for the first time in 20 years.

The company dominated the home PC market in the late 80s and early 90s with the much-loved Amiga 500, which introduced many of us to legendary games like Sensible Soccer, Street Fighter, Duke Nukem and Doom.

However, this launch is more than just some misty-eyed nostalgia trip. The new Commodore Amiga Mini is packed with top specs, including an Intel Core i7 processor running at 3.5GHz and 16GB RAM and NVIDIA's GeForce GT 430 (1GB) graphics card.

Beyond that, there's a 1TB hard-drive, with ready-made slots for two more 2.5-inch hard-drives, a Blu-ray optical drive, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and Commodore's own Linux-based Vision OS.

The 3-inches deep, 7.5-inches square box comes complete with that classic Amiga logo emblazoned across the front and is available to order now from Commodore's US website for around a rather hefty £1,500. On top of that you'll need your own monitor, mouse and keyboard.

Commodore CEO Barry Altman said: "This is an historic day. The team here has been working around the clock to fulfill the vision of a reunited Commodore and AMIGA branded computer with the launch of our new Commodore AMIGA mini."